Juma closes the first evening at LG Fashion Week

Brother-and-sister design duo Alia and Jamil Juma closed the first evening of fashion week last night in the Heritage Court’s new studio space. Many of the boldfaced names from the evening’s earlier shows had gone home—the show was delayed until almost 10:30 p.m.—but they missed a strong collection inspired by the pair’s experiences abroad. See the full collection below.

See the photos from Juma’s fall/winter 2011 show »

The girls trotted out in flowing printed silk tanks and tunics, while the men wore a collection of androgynous pieces. Some of the men’s looks were more butch than others, like the slim-fitting cargo sweats and jackets, while the blowsy silk scarves would seem favourable to only the flounciest of dandies. Both men and women were styled with heavy boots that would do the Man Repeller proud—fashion forward to some, but likely clunky and unappealing to most.

The space was steamy and crowded, no one was fed, and the shows were delayed by an hour, so people were nearly trampled when the show finally let out (we dove out of the way of a crush of high-heeled editrixes rushing for cabs). It likely wasn’t Juma’s fault that the show was delayed, but sticking it out did prove to be a reward. We loved the vibrant geometric patterns on a hooded dress and a crewneck sweater, but like we’ve said already about other shows this season, it all seems more like a Shelbyville New York idea. Where is the commercial market in Toronto for this—and 70 per cent of what we’ve seen sofar?